The Elder Scrolls Online: DOA?

I’m trying very hard not to get too excited about this. I have confidence in Bethesda for being able to craft a game worth playing.. but an MMO? This is pretty much a new field for the the company. Yes it’s set in the world we all know.. just far in the past. How will this mesh with what’s currently going on? And this hits on one of my main pet peeves about the Elder Scroll series, the simple fact that eons can go by and nothing changes in technology.

Really?

Anyway.. ok.. let’s break this down:

1) The game will be set roughly a millennium before the events in Skyrim And I’m betting the tech hasn’t changed.. will we be able to see some of the ‘dwarf’ tech in use? What about the ruins in Skyrim? Will we be able to see them in all their glory now?

2) Players will be able to explore all of Tamriel, not just one region like in current Elder Scrolls titles. Yea!! but with out proper city’s like "OH! this is where Morrowind will be’ it’s not really going to matter. if anything at least making the city’s/villages LOOK young. We are going to want to see the land that we’ve come to know over the last 5 games and how it’s changed in the time between ES:O and Arena . [Update] Well according to the movie shown on the 05/11/ update, YES! will will see the correct maps! Down to the height map used in Oblivion!

3) Hot Key Combat Another good looking over-glorified game of whack-a-mole and I wonder how this makes ES:OL an Elder scrolls game.

4) Class Based leveling, no more skills So this is an Elder Scrolls MMO how?

5) Mounts are confirmed, flying mounts however will not be included due to lore restrictions (no dragons). Like there isn’t some mage somewhere trying to figure out how to place wings on a horse.

6) No player housing or NPC romance will be included, but could possibly be added later on. What?! No housing?! I’m SO thrown off by this. You want to release a MMO for everyone to feel apart of Tamriel and NOT allow them to have home? Not even an instanced version of the housing in skyrim? TOTALLY LAME

7) There will be full voice acting for all NPCs. Not for long. I can’t remember a game that has full voice for everything the NPC says. Earth and Beyond even tried that and stopped after a few patch’s because of the total PITA it is.

8) The average player will be able to reach the level cap in roughly 120 hours of gameplay. So that’s about 1/2 a month for a farmer?

9) Mundus Stones will replace Guardian Stones found in Skyrim and will offer various buffs. Well their be lore as to why there’s the name change?

10) The Thieves Guild and Dark Brotherhood have been confirmed. Oh yeah.. THEY get a guild, we can’t get a house…

11) Endgame content will feature heroic dungeons and large-scale raids. Just like every other MMO.

12) There will be both instanced and public dungeons. Public dungeons are dungeons with only one "instance" meaning everyone who enters will be in the same instance. Just like quite a few other MMOs.

13) Skills are still based on stamina/mana. It was stated above that there are no skills… OH.. actions? Just like every other MMO.

14) Sprinting, blocking and interrupts will remain in the game. Blocking still plays a large role, players can block with a shield, 2H Sword or Force Field. Blocking an enemies power attack will still potentially throw them off balance, like in Skyrim. How can you block if combat isn’t action based?

15) Traditional aggro mechanics are non-existant, Zenimax Online is promising "player-like" AI. For example, when entering a room in a dungeon you won’t be able to pull a group of mobs back and pick them off, rather they will all react at the sight of you and begin performing their designated role (NPC tanks rush forward, healers and ranged move away from players).

Well a "player-like" AI would be a first, and that could lead to some interesting combat.

17) There will be a finesse system which allows players to execute an ultimate skill. Finesse points are built up by being effective in battle, encouraging players to play smarter.

In other words.. Tokens. SS/DD

18) Questing is "hub-less" unlike games like WoW, it is apparently more like TES, in which players can go anywhere and do whatever piques their interest. This of course will still be limited by level requirements. Sure, so you can still go after that lvl50 mud crap?

19) Elder Scrolls Online will use a phasing system, much like WoW. Well at least they are admitting they looked over WoW’s way or doing things.

20) It’s confirmed that there are "fetch x of y, kill x of y" quests although they are said to be the minority of the quests. Unlike skyrim?

21) There will be three faction PvP, just like DAoC. Doesn’t surprise me.

22) Instanced PvP arenas are confirmed. Doesn’t surprise me, either.

23) Open World PvP and Free-Form PvP will be included and is said to also be similar to DAoC. Nor here…

24) Siege weapons and destructible terrain are confirmed. Nope, not a bit of surprise.

25) Endgame PvP will involve players fighting to take control of Cyrodiil, conquer the Imperial City and crown the most accomplished player in your faction the Emperor. That’s right, you can be come the Emperor. The ultimate goal is the Imperial City, however there will be other capture points such as forts, farms, mines, castles etc. (But you can’t own a house) Player-politics are confirmed and are said to be closely related to DAoC and UO. There will be a system in place which will facilitate a players holdings being attacked, allowing players to organically defend their turf without the game enforcing scheduled assaults.

Bottom Line: Everything I read above states that this was DAoC2 rebranded with the Elder Scrolls name. Pretty much nothing in here says ‘Elder scrolls’. Class based VS skill based means you can’t play your toon the way you wish. It’s an MMO so you know the whole sand box thing is out the window no matter what’s stated. Yeah, you might be able to get level 1 quests no matter when you go.. but it’s still a hub since you’d tend to work out of one city to start with anyway and NOTHING stated about crafting.

We’re seemingly looking at a game that’s a combination of DAoC, WoW, with a little UO for seasoning. DOA? So far, I believe so.